Persons who are bed-ridden for long periods of time, especially the elderly, run serious risks of pneumonia and other diseases due to inactivity and lying in a supine position (flat on the back) for prolonged intervals. Nursing staffs attempt to alleviate these problems by requiring patients to lie on their sides at least a portion of the time. However, many patients are too weak to roll over themselves and/or to maintain a position of rest on their sides. Nurses must therefore manually roll the patient from the supine position to a side position and wedge pillows behind the patient's back in order to prop the patient up in the desired side supported position. This generally requires the services of at least two nurses or attendants, and even then is rarely fully effective. Moreover, the practice is discomforting for the patient and fails entirely to achieve one objective of resting on the side, i.e., ventilation of the patient's back. Because of this lack of ventilation, many such patients develop bed sores which are literally impossible to cure or heal because the source or cause thereof is never alleviated.
Moreover, the frequency of requisite movement and the need for two or more nurses or attendants to adjust the patient's position relegates many patients to institutional care rather than home care, even though their condition might otherwise be such that the loving care of family in familial surroundings would be economically and psychologically preferable for all concerned.